We recently spent a wonderful week at the Novotel in Tanjung Benoa.  We had never stayed in this area of Bali before but choose the hotel as it was well recommended as being excellent for kids.  We were travelling with another family and between us, we had three children aged 8, 9 and 10, so having a hotel with great facilities for the kids was our priority.

In this post, I provide a full overview of the Novotel Bali Benoa, so you can be well informed as to whether or not this is the perfect hotel for your next family trip to Bali.

I have included pricing where applicable – but keep in mind that you will need to add around 20% for taxes to these prices.

This post may contain compensated links.  Please refer to my disclaimer here for more information.

 

Where is the Novotel Bali Benoa?

The Novotel Bali Benoa is a beachfront property located on a long peninsula called Tanjung Benoa. The area is right next to Nusa Dua and pretty much runs parallel to the Bali Mandara Toll Road which is the 12.7km bridge that runs across the Gulf of Benoa.

The area of Tanjung Benoa is relatively quiet compared to areas like Kuta, Seminyak and Legian – however it has plenty of shops, massage parlours, resorts and restaurants that run the length of the main strip.  Most tourists tend to come to the area as it’s well known for its water sports rather than actually staying here for the duration of their trip.

Who do we recommend the Novotel Bali Benoa for?

First up let’s talk about who should consider staying at the Novotel Bali Benoa?  I personally recommend the Novotel Bali for families who:

• Want a good value 5-star resort offering fantastic facilities for the kids;
• Want to spend a good amount of their time in Bali relaxing within their hotel;
• Don’t want to spend most of their days sightseeing, as there are much more convenient areas to do sightseeing from other than Tanjung Benoa; and
• Don’t necessarily want to be close to the action of tourist areas like Kuta, Seminyak and Legian, as it is around 1-hour drive to these areas from the Novotel.

For us, we have been to Bali many times, so were just looking for a great hotel with excellent facilities (for both the kids and adults) that we could just relax for a week. 

If you are coming to Bali for the first time and want to do lots of sightseeing, you might be best to stay somewhere more central. 

Click here for our guide on all the best things to do in Bali with kids.

Facilities at Novotel Bali Benoa

Before we talk about the facilities at Novotel Bali Benoa, I should mention that the hotel is actually split with half the hotel on the beachfront and the remaining parts of the hotel on the other side of the road – referred to as the garden wing. 

However the road is very narrow and it is very easy to reach both sections – not any different really if the road wasn’t there.  Although if you want to be super close to the beach, main pool and restaurants, I recommended booking accommodation on the beachside of the hotel.

Pools at Novotel Bali Benoa

There are three different swimming pools at Novotel Bali Benoa – the Penida (image 1 above) which is located by the beach and the Nirwana (not a spelling mistake – image 2 above) and Crocokiss (image 3 above) which are both in the garden wing. 

The Nirwana pool is a quiet pool – but it’s not well signposted, and we only realised this after being given evil eyes from adults in the pool, after we brought in our noisy children and later discovered the “quiet pool” sign.  Oops.

The Crocokiss pool is by the Crocokiss Restaurant and Bar.  This is also where you will find the resorts only swim-up pool bar.

We spent most of our time in the beachfront Penida pool.  It’s a lovely pool – with a range of water features, a spa and a shallow toddler pool directly off the main pool.  My only problem with this pool is that its fairly deep and there aren’t too many areas that you can stand.  Also there is only one set of stairs which makes getting in and out a bit tricky if you aren’t able to climb in and out from the edge.

We found that all pools had an ample amount of sun loungers – although we did visit in the quiet season, so this could be different in peak season.  Each of the pools also has some lovely cabanas around the pools with lounge-type seating.

The pools close at 7 pm and they are strict about this as we were asked to leave the pool one night once 7 pm came along.

Towels are available at each of the pools.

Kids Club at Novotel Bali Benoa

The kids loved the Kids Club at the Novotel and spent a good few hours there every single day.  As mentioned, the kids in our group were aged 8, 9 and 10 and each of them equally loved spending time there.

The kids club is opened daily from 9 am to 12 pm and then again from 2 pm to 5 pm.  All kids are welcomed with kids under 5 requiring supervision by a parent, nanny or babysitter which can be arranged through the hotel for an additional fee.

On first glance, the kids club room looked reasonably small – it’s not overly big – however there is a stack of different things to do in there.  There is a computer game area with three computers and consoles, a stack of board games, arts and crafts, blocks, books and even a pool table outside.

The kids club also organise a lot of activities outside such as Balinese dress-ups, swimming, fish feeding, beach walks and games, cooking classes, and more.  See below the complete activities list for the week we were at the Novotel.

On Fridays, they also have an entire day camping on the beach.  This activity is an additional 198,000 IRD – around $20 AUD and includes lunch.  We were out on a pre-arranged tour on the Friday otherwise we would have definitely had taken the kids to this.

Click here for our full guide on the 21 Best Kids Club Bali Hotels

Daily Activities at the Novotel Bali Benoa

It’s not just the kids that get activities at the Novotel; there is a range of daily activities available for the adults too. 

Activities include aqua aerobics, yoga classes, villages walks, bike tours and more.  Some things have an additional charge, while others are completely free – see below images for a list of the activities on offer during our stay as well as the additional charges.

One thing the kids really enjoyed was the daily pool games.  During our stay these were held each day at 12 pm and was usually a simple game with the first, second and third places getting a free ice cream.

In Balance Spa at Novotel Bali Benoa

If you’re after a massage or a range of spa treatments during your stay, then In Balance Spa is the place to be.  The day spa is open daily between 9 am and 11 pm and bookings are a must.

You can choose to have your massages in the garden hut looking out to the ocean or in the day spa.

In our accommodation package, we had two x 60-minute massages included so were lucky enough to have a massage here.  We all found the massages to be lovely and relaxing.

I’ve included the spa menu below for you to check out.

Water Sports at Novotel Bali Benoa

Tanjung Benoa is of course famous for water sports, so if you’re interested in any water sports in Bali – here is the place to do it.

At the Novotel, they work with local operator Apollo for their water sports.  You can book your activities through the hotel and someone from Apollo will come and pick you up and take you for your activity.  See below the range of water sport activities available and the price. 

During our stay, we decided to go parasailing, which was absolutely amazing!

You may well be able to book it cheaper yourself directly from the beach, so you may like to consider this before booking with the hotel.

Fitness Facilities at Novotel Bali Benoa

For those that like to keep fit during their stay, there is a range of fitness facilities available for guest, including:

• Fitness centre: open daily from 6 am to 10 pm.
• Tennis Court: During the hours of 9 am to 6 pm free use of courts, racket and balls – additional charges apply for outside hours.
• Water Sports: there is free use of paddleboards on the beach.
• Bicycle Rental is available at an additional charge.

Dining Options at the Novotel Bali Benoa

The Novotel has three different restaurants and bars onsite as well as a sandwich and ice cream shop and the option for room service. 

While we didn’t eat at all the restaurants during our stay, we found the food we ate to be absolutely divine and a good variety available.  The prices were also great – certainly not cheap compared to what you could get in a local restaurant, but in terms of Australia prices, they were reasonably inexpensive.

Uluwatu Restaurant

This is the main restaurant of the hotel and is a spacious open-air restaurant which looks out across the pool and beach.  The Uluwatu Restaurants is open daily for a buffet breakfast, lunch and nightly themed buffet dinners.

Breakfast

We had our breakfast here each morning and I was certainly impressed.  The variety is probably the biggest I’ve ever seen on a breakfast buffet and they changed it up a bit from day to day too.

I certainly can’t name everything that was on offer, but food and drink included: fried and boiled eggs as well as omelets cooked to your liking, bacon, sausages, pancakes, crepes, hash browns, grilled tomatoes, sautéed potatoes, huge range of fresh breads and pastries, cereals, fruits, yoghurts, tea and coffee, different fresh fruit and vegetable juices – even a variety of water all infused with different fruits or just plain.  Seriously that’s probably only half of it!

I also noticed a gluten-free area too.

There is also a little kids breakfast room which is filled with sweets!  Nothing healthy here for breakfast that’s for sure!  The first few days, our kids were gobbling it all up – but I think they then realised it just made them feel ill.  The room is lovely though, but I would have liked it if they had healthy options for the kids here too.

The buffet is available from 6.30 to 10.30 am.  However if you are leaving the resort for a tour or flight prior to 6.30 am the staff are more than happy to put together a breakfast box for you free of charge.  See below a picture of our breakfast box which included a sandwich, boiled egg, fruit, a range of pastries and water.

Themed Buffet Dinners

To be honest, I’m a bit confused if the themed buffet dinners are every night or just certain nights.  All the information around the hotel seems to indicate the dinners are on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday nights, however during our stay it appeared they weren’t always on these nights and they were on other nights.

Anyway – we had a buffet dinner included with our accommodation package and headed to the Mediterranean buffet night, which was amazing!!  Just like the breakfasts, there is a crazy amount of food on offer, so no matter your likes and dislikes, you are sure to find plenty to eat.

Buffet dinners are 289,000 IDR, around $30 AUD per person or 369,000 IDR, around $40 AUD per person for the seafood dinner.  There are also different types of dancing around 8 pm each night – including fire dancing, Balinese dancing and tribal dancing.

The buffet dinners are available from 7 to 10 pm.

Cocos Restaurant and Bar

Located on the beach and poolside (pictured above as well as the main image for this post), Cocos Restaurant and Bar serves lunch and dinner between 11 am and 11 pm.  We ate at this restaurant almost daily for either lunch or dinner and I am so annoyed at myself, but I didn’t take a picture of this menu for you!!!

Anyway on this menu you will find things such as sandwiches ( from around 115, 000 IRD – $12 AUD), Pizza’s (from around 120,000 IRD – $12 AUD), starters like spring rolls, rice paper rolls and calamari (all from around 80,000 IRD – $8 AUD) and pasta and meat dishes (from around 150,000 IRD – $15 AUD).

My favourite thing about Cocos was the kid’s menu.  For 110,000 IRD (Around $11 AUD) the kids could order a main, dessert and drink.  Sure we could have got it cheaper outside at a local restaurant, but for resort prices, I think this is excellent value.

Actually the kid’s menu wasn’t my favourite thing about this restaurant – the daily discounted cocktail and happy hour was!  Each day the bar has a different cocktail which is on sale all day and then between 5-7 pm you can purchase two for one cocktails.  Cocktails started at around 100,000 IRD ($10 AUD).

With the Cocos Restaurant menu, you could eat by the pool, in their restaurant or on the beach where they have trendy bean bags. 

Crocokiss Restaurant and Bar

This restaurant is located by the pool in the garden wing and is open daily between 11 am and 7 pm.  We didn’t eat here at all during our stay, but I understand the restaurant serves Indonesian food and also has a happy hour between 5 and 7 pm.

Sandwich and Ice Cream Shop

Located right by the beachfront swimming pool is a sandwich and ice cream shop.  We didn’t eat here apart from the kids having quite a few ice creams. 

You can see the menu and prices in the image below.  Ice creams were around $4 AUD – so similar to Aussie prices. 

This shop is open between 11 am and 6 pm daily.

Room Service

We didn’t have room service during our stay, but I have taken a picture of the menu in case you’re interested.  As you can see, there is a good range of food on offer all at reasonable prices.

Accommodation at the Novotel Bali Benoa

The Novotel Bali Benoa has four main room types available both in the garden and beach wing.

Deluxe Garden Side Rooms

The cheapest rooms at the Novotel are the deluxe king or twin rooms which are located on the garden side of the property. 

These rooms claim to be able to accommodate up to 4 people, but really they are best suited to 2 adults and 1 child at most as in addition to the main bedding there is a small day bed which can be converted to a bed for a child.

The rooms are rather spacious at 42m2 and have a modern look to them.  All rooms include daily free bottled water, tea and coffee facilities, small fridge, air conditioning, bathrobes, hairdryer, toiletries (including soap, body wash, shampoo and conditioner), free Wi-Fi, flat-screen TV with cable channels and safe.

The rooms on the ground floor also have are great courtyard and deck with outdoor furniture.

For families, you can book interconnecting rooms.

Tropical Terrace Rooms

This is the room type we stayed in during our visit – we stayed in room 321.  These rooms are located on the beachside and are very conveniently located just steps from most of the resort’s facilities.

The Terrace rooms are just stunning.  They are like little villas dotted around the resort’s gardens, with individual little gates and a path that leads through a private garden to the doorstep of the rooms. Each of the rooms has a small porch with a garden shower and outdoor furniture.

These rooms come with either a king bed or twin beds and claim to be able to accommodate up to 4 people.  In my view these rooms are best suited to 2 adults and 1 child at most as in addition to the main bedding there is a small day bed which can be converted to a bed for a child.  If your children are small, you could get away with two children in this room.

The rooms are rather spacious at 44m2 and have a modern tropical look to them.  All rooms include daily free bottled water, tea and coffee facilities, small fridge, air conditioning, bathrobes, hairdryer, toiletries (including soap, body wash, shampoo and conditioner), free Wi-Fi, flat-screen TV with cable channels and safe.  The bathrooms are enormous and have a luxurious deep bathtub perfect for relaxing in or bathing the kids.

Family Rooms

For families that want additional space without needing two connecting rooms, you can opt to book into one of the family rooms which are located in either the garden wing or the beach wing.

Family rooms include a king-size bed, sofa bed (family rooms in the beach wing have two sofa beds) and a separate children area which has a set of bunk beds.  Both the parents and kids area have their own TV, with the kids also having a play station.  These rooms also have a private courtyard with outdoor furniture.

Garden family rooms are 54m2 while beach family rooms are a huge 88m2.  All rooms include daily free bottled water, tea and coffee facilities, small fridge, air conditioning, bathrobes, hairdryer, toiletries (including soap, body wash, shampoo and conditioner), free Wi-Fi and safe. 

Private Pool Villas

The pools at the Novotel are lovely, but if you want something more private you can opt for a 1 or 2 bedroom villa with a private swimming pool. 

The one-bedroom pool villas are located in the garden wing and are a huge 500m2 and offer ocean views.  These villas have an impressive outdoor area with not just a swimming pool, but also a jacuzzi, gazebo, outdoor living and dining area.  These villas claim to accommodate up to 4 people but only come with one king bed and a sofa bed.

The two-bedroom pool villas are located in the beach wing and are a massive 210m2.  These villas have an impressive outdoor area with a swimming pool (some with ocean views), as well as a jacuzzi, gazebo, spacious living and dining area.  These villas claim to accommodate up to 6 people but only come with one king bed, two singles and a sofa bed.

Both villas include daily free bottled water, tea and coffee facilities, small fridge, air conditioning, bathrobes, hairdryer, toiletries (including soap, body wash, shampoo and conditioner), free Wi-Fi and safe. 

Outside the Resort

Right outside the Novotel Bali Benoa is everything you need including convenience stores, massage parlours, restaurants, chemist, laundry service and shops.  You won’t need to walk more than 5-10 minutes to reach any of these places.

The nearest convenience store is just a few metres further up the peninsular from the resort.  Here you can buy snacks, soft drinks, water, alcohol – anything you might need during your stay.

For the best range of shops, head back down the peninsular towards Nusa Dua – there isn’t much further up the peninsular.

The beach is also not too bad here at the Novotel – we didn’t actually swim there ourselves, but we saw others swimming during our stay.

Where to Book your Stay?

We booked our stay through a Jetstar deal.  We managed to score 3 return flights, 7-night accommodation, 2 x 60-minute massages, buffet dinner for us all and daily buffet breakfast for us all, all for $2000 AUD.  Jetstar tends to have these deals at least once or twice a year.  Sign up to our FB page and FB group if you want to be notified of these deals.

If there are no deals during your planned visit, I recommend booking through Booking.com for the best flexibility (you can always cancel and book elsewhere if you find a better deal).  Rooms start at $157 AUD for a family of 4 which includes breakfast in a Deluxe garden room or $204 for a Tropical Terrace Room like what we stayed in.

The Novotel Bali Benoa – Our Verdict

We all thoroughly enjoyed our stay at the Novotel Bali Benoa- it’s a great place to stay if the main aim of your trip is to enjoy the facilities of your hotel and particularly if you’re after a great kids club.  I would definitely recommend this hotel to families thinking of visiting Bali for some r and r.